The Flip Side
The Flip Side is an audiobook produced by Big Finish Productions. It was released in September 2013, and stars Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard, and Christopher Ragland as Jonah Rooney. The play was nominated for a Scribe Award in 2014. Publisher's summary “It's my philosophy. Heads or tails. Chances and choices...” Carolyn Stoddard is lost. Widowed at an early age, she's the lonely rich girl, drinking her life away as her friends grow up and move on. But Carolyn's life is about to change. Because Carolyn is about to be given a set of choices. And those choices will determine whether she is allowed to live or die. It's closing time at the Blue Whale but for Carolyn Stoddard the night is far from over. It's time to face the music... Synopsis Teaser : The fishing town of Collinsport sits perched on the knifes edge where land meets the sea. When day turns to night the light and sounds of the Blue Whale pub stretch out across the water. Like moths the residents of this dark town are drawn in, they bask in the glow of each other's company and engage in their social rituals unaware of the danger of getting too close to the flame. At the Blue Whale, bartender Jonah Rooney serves drinks to Carolyn Stoddard, Maggie Evans, Amy Jennings and Jim Hardy. The power cuts out prompting Jonah go check the fuse box. He discovers the dead body of his uncle Bob and an identical double of himself standing nearby who gleefully admits to being responsible, and who is ready to kill again. Opening Theme The double produces a coin imploring Jonah to look into it, which causes him to fall into a trance, unable to move. The alternate Jonah, who is interested in Carolyn’s whereabouts, kills the original Jonah and makes his way to the bar assuming his counterpart’s place. Observing Carolyn interacting with those around her, he mentally manipulates their actions, making their responses become hostile, causing them one by one to leave, much to Carolyn’s bewilderment, until the bar is completely empty. Now alone, they discuss the history of Collinsport, the legacy of the Collins family, Carolyn's place within those things and Jonah's interest in performing magic tricks. As they walk home, Sabrina Jennings and Maggie discuss Carolyn's spoilt behavior. Suddenly, Jonah's strange influence causes Sabrina to freeze in the middle of the road as a car approaches, which hits her. Jonah invites Carolyn to dance with him under the guise of it being a magic trick, as they do so, she begins to become wary of his odd manner. She tries to pull away from him in order to go to the bathroom, but he insists she stay with him. She starts to feel confused, questioning the situation she has got herself into. Jonah exerts his odd influence over her causing her to forget his peculiar behavior. He proceeds to tell her about the death of his parents and how Carolyn's beloved uncle Roger Collins was responsible. The telephone rings with news from Jim of Sabrina's mysterious accident. In turn, Carolyn informs Jonah of the accident, but he is unconcerned, he gleefully admits to having caused everyone else to leave the Blue Whale and to being responsible for Sabrina's accident. He leads her to the back room, and shows her the dead bodies of Bob and Jonah. Carolyn cries out in distress. He explains how he from a parallel reality where different choices were made leading to different outcomes. In his version of reality he discovered a coin covered in sand, upon touching the coin it transported him to a version of reality ravaged by the Leviathans – created in that time due to a choice made by Carolyn. The coin then transports them to another version of reality where he encountered a different version of himself – in that time Carolyn's married name was Loomis. Imploring her to look in the coin, it transports them to the Blue Whale in another time band where they observe Jonah killing an alternate version of Carolyn. Returning to the original timeline, he taunts her over her own empty existence. As he pours her another drink she sobs completely broken. He tells her she is to commit suicide in front of Roger in order to avenge the death of Jonah's parents. If she doesn’t comply he will instead kill everyone she cares about. Reluctantly she agrees. Suddenly, she hits him with a bottle of tequila. She pours it all over him and then sets him on fire. Grabbing the coin, she darts outside. Jonah – communicating to Carolyn inside her head – demands the return of the coin as it keeps him in this version of reality, he vows to catch her, the coin draws him to her. Reaching the train tracks, she places the coin on the track, he pleads with her to remove it, but to no avail, a train passes flattening it. Jonah hold over her is gone. Sabrina recovers from the accident at hospital. Amy consoles her. Carolyn arrives. They discuss the fire at the Blue Whale and the death's of Jonah and Bob. As they leave, Carolyn asks Amy if she can join her in Salem when she goes to college. Amy happily accepts. Jim arrives wanting to ask Carolyn a few questions about the incident at the Blue Whale. Tired, she agrees to go to the police station in the morning to give a statement. They get on to the subject of Jim's affections for Maggie, she encourages to act on them before it's too late. She rings her mother to tell her how much she is missing her and of her plans for the future. Closing Theme Memorable quotes * Jonah: Come on Carolyn, I know you like to dance. I’ve seen you dance with a lot of guys. * Carolyn: I don't dance with them, I… well… I dance for them. Dramatis personae (in order of appearance) * Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard * Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans * Christopher Ragland as Jonah Rooney / Jonah Rooney (PT) * Stephanie Ellyne as Amy Jennings * Jonathon Marx as Jim Hardy * Lisa Richards as Sabrina Jennings Background information and notes * The opening narration for this story was also played over the end credits of the previous release The Lucifer Gambit, this time it is read by Christopher Ragland instead of Stephanie Ellyne. * The Blue Whale Jukebox has a song named "The Ginger Jackalope" by Bobby Mendez. Although not named, this track featured during many scenes set at the Blue Whale in the original series. ** In reality, the track was composed by Robert Cobert. It features on The Complete Dark Shadows Soundtrack Music Collection titled 73: Med. Slow Blue, and on Original Music From Dark Shadows (Volume 4) titled Dancing at The Blue Whale. ** The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore (a so-called "fearsome critter") described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail (and often hind legs). The word "jackalope" is a portmanteau of "jackrabbit" and "antalope", an archaic spelling of "antelope". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope * Bob Rooney recently suffered a heart attack. In this story he is found dead, killed by Jonah Rooney (PT). In Beneath the Veil it was revealed that Jonah Rooney was running the Blue Whale in his uncle's absence. * The coin, capable of transcending Parallel Time, and possibly associated with the Leviathans, was minted in the year 1967. * Tom Lacey is mentioned to have interviewed several of the locals of Collinsport. The character first appeared in The Phantom Bride and featured prominently in Beyond the Grave. * Barnabas Collins and Julia Hoffman are currently in Cairo. Their adventure there would be told in ''The Curse of Shurafa''. * Mrs. Haggerty is mentioned, who first appeared in The Ghost Watcher as the proprietor of the Collinsport General Store. Verne Haggerty is also mentioned. * The recent death of Sheriff Patterson is mentioned, which occurred in Beneath the Veil. * Jonah Rooney (PT) foreshadows his own death when he is knocked over by Jim Hardy and compares the experience to getting hit by a train. * Amy Jennings plans to study parapsychology in Salem. * Susan and Ed Griffin are said to be dating, they first appeared in The House of Despair as a married couple. * Mad Jack is mentioned. The character featured prominently in Beyond the Grave. * The story of Jonah and the Whale] is referenced. * Carolyn Stoddard observes that the Blue Whale Jukebox has had the same records in it for years. This alludes to the fact that throughout the original series the same handful of tunes would be played whenever music was required. * The song The Better Side was composed and performed by Sean McGhee especially for this release. http://artmagicmusic.tumblr.com/post/59592117619/sean-talks-dark-shadows It is included as the end of this release as bonus track. In subsequent releases, this song occasionally shows up as background music in scenes set in the Blue Whale. * The death of Chris Jennings is mentioned. It was revealed how he died in The Enemy Within. * Carolyn is reluctant to dance with Jonah to a slow tempo song. In Carolyn's first scene of the original series she is seen dancing at the Blue Whale, with much abandon, to an up-tempo song. * Janet Fisher, a friend Carolyn's, previously mentioned in 117, is referenced. She is now married with kids. * Gerald Conway is mentioned who previously appeared in The House by the Sea. * Jonah was 13 years old when his parents died. His father was killed by a drunken Roger Collins who hit him with his car. It is implied his mother committed suicide because of this. An early storyline in the original series dealt with the fall out of this incident whereby Burke Devlin was wrongly sent to prison for the crime. * The walls of the Blue Whale are covered in paintings of ships by Sam Evans, who did them as payment for alcohol. * Gretchen Warwick is mentioned who previously appeared in Curse of the Pharaoh. * In an alternate reality The Blue Whale is named The Eagle and in another it is called 'The Ginger Jackalope'. * Jonah may have visited the version of Parallel Time seen during from 969 to 1060. * 'WLSN' and 'KTEQ' are two of the radio stations received in Collinsport. 'WLSN 91.3FM' was previously heard broadcasting in Beneath the Veil. * There is a Parallel Time where Carolyn was a vampire and another where she was a werewolf. These allude to the character's fate as seen in films House of Dark Shadows and Dark Shadows (2012) respectively. This audio implies all versions of Dark Shadows in all media take place within different Parallel Time bands. * There is also a version of Parallel Time where Carolyn made the decision to aid the Leviathans, which resulted in the end of civilization transforming the world into a desert. * David Collins is away at school. * Ned Stuart is training to be lawyer. * Buzz Hackett is now an accountant living in Bangor with a boyfriend. * Megan Todd is referenced. * Victoria Winters is referenced. * Mrs. Johnson is referenced. * The frequent business trips made by Roger Collins are mentioned. In the original series this was often the reason cited to explain the character's absence. * Sabrina's doctor is named Balthazar. * A teaser for the next release, Beyond the Grave, plays over the end credits: ** Next time on Dark Shadows. It seems like any other sleepy little town in America, but Collinsport's innocent veneer hides a dark history of witchcraft, murder and madness. And on this Halloween night, a nightmare from its past is about to be uncovered. * Also included are trailers for Curse of the Pharaoh, The Poisoned Soul & Final Judgement. Bloopers and continuity errors External Links * Big Finish Productions: The Flip Side * Dark Shadows Every Day: Just a Girl * The Collinsport Historical Society - Review: The Flip Side References Category:Big Finish Audio Dramas